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Over an extended period, intimidating messages recurred. Initially, supposedly from a retired cop and a former defense officer, and then from law enforcement directly. Ultimately, a local artisan states he was ordered to the local precinct and warned explicitly: stop speaking out or experience severe repercussions.

The leather artisan is one of many resisting a multimillion-dollar project where Dharavi – an iconic Mumbai neighborhood – will be razed and redeveloped by a corporate giant.

"The distinctive community of Dharavi is exceptional in the planet," explains the resident. "However they want to eradicate our social fabric and prevent our protests."

Opposing Environments

The dank gullies of Dharavi present a dramatic difference to the high-rise structures and elite residences that loom over the area. Dwellings are assembled randomly and frequently missing basic amenities, unregulated industries release harmful emissions and the air is filled with the overpowering odor of exposed drainage.

To some, the prospect of a renewed Dharavi into a glistening neighborhood of high-end towers, neat parks, contemporary malls and homes with two toilets is an optimistic future come true.

"There's no adequate medical facilities, proper streets or sewage systems and there's nowhere for kids to enjoy," says A Selvin Nadar, in his fifties, who moved from southern India in the early eighties. "The only way is to tear it all down and provide modern residences."

Resident Opposition

Yet certain residents, such as Shaikh, are opposing the project.

Everyone acknowledges that Dharavi, historically ignored as an illegal encroachment, is urgently needing financial support and improvement. Yet they fear that this project – without public consultation – is one that will turn valuable urban land into an elite enclave, displacing the marginalized, working-class residents who have resided there since generations ago.

These were these shunned, migrant workers who built up the uninhabited area into a frequently examined example of self-reliance and commercial output, whose production is valued at between $1m and $2m per year, making it one of the world's largest unofficial markets.

Resettlement Issues

Among approximately one million people living in the dense 2.2 square kilometer zone, fewer than half will be eligible for alternative accommodation in the redevelopment, which is estimated to take an extended timeframe to complete. The remainder will be relocated to wastelands and coastal regions on the remote edges of Mumbai, risking break up a historic neighborhood. A portion will not get residences at all.

Residents permitted to stay in the area will be given units in multi-story structures, a substantial change from the evolved, collective approach of dwelling and laboring that has maintained Dharavi for generations.

Businesses from clothing production to clay work and waste processing are likely to decrease in quantity and be moved to an allocated "business area" far from people's residences.

Existential Threat

In the case of the leather artisan, a leather artisan and multi-generational of his family to reside in Dharavi, the plan presents a fundamental risk. His rickety, three-floor operation creates garments – formal jackets, luxury coats, fashionable garments – marketed in high-end shops in the city's affluent areas and internationally.

His family lives in the rooms below and employees and sewers – migrants from other states – also sleep on-site, allowing him to afford their labour. Away from Dharavi's enclave, housing costs are typically significantly more expensive for minimal space.

Threats and Warning

In the official facilities close by, a visual representation of the Dharavi project shows a very different vision for the future. Slickly dressed people gather on bicycles and e-vehicles, acquiring continental baked goods and breakfast items and socializing on a terrace near Dharavi Cafe and dessert parlor. This depicts a complete departure from the affordable idli sambar morning meal and low-cost tea that sustains Dharavi's community.

"This is not development for our community," explains Shaikh. "This constitutes a massive property transaction that will render it impossible for our community to continue."

There is also skepticism of the corporate group. Run by a prominent businessman – one of India's most powerful and a close ally of the government head – the business group has been subject to claims of crony capitalism and questionable practices, which it rejects.

Although local authorities labels it a partnership, the corporation invested $950m for its majority share. A lawsuit alleging that the project was questionably assigned to the developer is pending in the top court.

Continued Intimidation

From when they initiated to vocally oppose the development, local opponents state they have been experienced an extended period of coercion and warning – comprising communications, explicit warnings and implications that speaking against the initiative was equivalent to opposing national interests – by individuals they claim are associated with the corporate group.

Part of the group accused of issuing the threats is {a retired police officer|a former law enforcement official|an ex-c